iPhone Basics 101

By Brad Burd

If you’ve just bought your first iPhone, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of fancy things your new toy can do.

Where do you start? Do you really have to read the whole manual? How do you get it to do basic things like making phone calls, showing maps and sending text messages?

If you’re totally new to the iPhone and need some help we’ve put together some handy pointers to get you started. Once you’ve used your iPhone a few times everything will seem a lot simpler, and pretty soon you’ll feel like a pro!

Making a phone call

Bring up the Phone screen by tapping the icon. To call someone on your Contacts list, tap the Contacts button at the bottom of this screen, choose the contact and tap the appropriate phone number. You can also tap the Favorites button and pick a name from there, or return a recent call by tapping Recents and choosing from the list.

If you need to dial a number, tap Keypad, enter the number and select Call. You can also say the name or number to dial, but you’ll need to have activated Voice Control first.

Sending and receiving text messages

Text messaging is easy with the iPhone’s large keyboard that has a built-in dictionary and word suggestion. Messages are shown as a continual conversation, so you can resume your dialogue at any time.

If your carrier supports MMS you can also send photos, video clips, voice messages, and contact and map information to other phones with MMS capabilities. To send a text message tap the Write button and pick a name from your Contacts list, or type in a name or phone number. Tap the text space above the keyboard and enter your message. When you’re ready, just tap Send.

Using the calendar

If you have an iCalendar (.ics) or CalDAV account you can subscribe to Yahoo!, Google or Mac OS X iCal calendars, and then view each one – or a combined version – on your iPhone. It’s up to you whether to view your events by day, by month, or in one long list.

You can also sync your iPhone calendars with the ones on your PC or Mac. To check your calendars tap Calendars, then choose one from the list, or tap All Calendars to see a combined view. In Month view, days with dots have events entered, while the events for the selected day are listed near the bottom of the screen. To see details for a particular event, simply tap it.

Using maps

Just like a standalone GPS unit, your iPhone can give you directions and let you search for a location by address or keyword.The onboard Google Maps technology also allows you to zoom, get public transit directions, and see street views and satellite views.

For route instructions, tap Directions and input the starting and ending locations. iPhone automatically starts from your current location, but you can also use the Bookmarks button to pick a location you’ve already bookmarked by moving the pin on the map and tapping the adjacent arrow. You can also select the address from your Recents or Contacts lists, or type it in manually. Now you can select driving, walking or public transit directions, and then choose whether to view them one at a time or in a list. Another way to get directions is to find a place on the map, tap the pin pointing to it and then tap Directions To Here or Directions From Here.

Viewing videos on YouTube

All iPhone will allow you to watch YouTube videos and with the 3GS or later model you can also upload clips to the site. Tapping the YouTube icon will take you to the site, where you can browse or search for videos. To play a video, tap it, and it will start to download. It will then play automatically.

Adding applications

There are iPhone applications for just about any purpose you can think of. Some you have to pay for, but many are free. To add an app, you’ll need to have an iTunes account and be connected to the internet. Tap the App Store icon and select an app to download. Tap either the price or Free, tap Buy Now, and then sign in to your iTunes account and tap OK to download.